Sermons

May 10, 2020

A Sermon Preached by Canon Simon Butler 10th May 2020 75th Anniversary of VE Day 2 Corinthians 5:17-20 ‘Greater love has no-one than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.’ Those familiar words from John’s Gospel are familiar to us from countless war memorials and graves from the[…]

A Sermon Preached by Canon Simon Butler 3rd May 2020 (Live-Streaming) Acts 2:42-27 When I was a young adult I was very enthusiastic about my new-found Christian faith and I felt it was vital that I shared my faith with as many people as I could and to try and[…]

Readings: Acts 2.14a,36–41, Luke 24.13–35 When I was on my ordination retreat back in 2015, the week I was to be made a deacon, I had a grace-filled experience of deep grief. The place we were staying in was a handsome old house, set deep in the beautiful Northumbrian[…]

When it was evening on the first day of the week, and the doors of the house where the disciples had met were locked for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said, ‘Peace be with you.’ (John 20:19) We have begun to understand something more[…]

This sermon was unusual as it became an interactive discussion about how we can respond locally to the Coronavirus pandemic, and was unprepared. The text below is an introductory section on making sense and responding to the situation in a Christian way. Today’s sermon is going to be a[…]

A Sermon Preached by Canon Simon Butler Sunday 16th February 2020 Second Sunday before Lent During this service a child called Archie was baptized. Jesus said, “Strive first for the Kingdom of God, and all these things will be given to you as well.” (Matthew 6:33) In the name[…]

A Sermon preached by Reverend Aaron Kennedy Feast of the Baptism of Jesus 12th January 2020 Isaiah 60.9-22; Hebrews 6.17 – 7.10 Aha! I see! I get it!, I said, as I sat upright in bed the morning sun streaming in through the window, bouncing off the white sheets[…]

A Sermon Preached by Canon Simon Butler Epiphany 2020 What is God Calling St Mary’s To Do in the Next Five Years? At the end of this sermon those present were asked to write down on a response sheet one thing that they are passionate about seeing come to pass[…]

A Sermon Preached on Christmas Day 2019 Canon Simon Butler Among the multitude of diversions from actually doing some work that social media offers, I subscribe to the Church Service Sheet Typos Facebook Page. Yes, I know, I should get a life. Some of the mistakes occur regularly, some of[…]

A Sermon Preached by Canon Simon Butler Sunday 15th December 2019 Third Sunday of Advent Matthew 11:2-11 Jamal Kashoggi was a Saudi Arabian journalist who was also a fierce critic of the Saudi Arabian government and especially of the Saudi monarchy. And because of death threats he received, he felt[…]

A Sermon Preached by Ms Leslie Spatt Sunday 8th December 2019 Matthew 3:1-12 John the Baptist is very angry! Something has certainly got under John’s skin to make him so angry with the Sadducees and Pharisees. Here they are, coming to join the hordes of people who have gone out[…]

Ancient marine creatures, living in our planet’s oldest oceans, used calcium carbonate from the seawater to create intricate and beautiful shells – homes for themselves. thousands of years later, we humans find some of them preserved as fossils. Think of the spiral of an ammonite, found on a seashore. But[…]